Postseason Picks... And Greetings From Philly

Gorgeous afternoon here in Philadelphia, with the wind blowing hard out to right field. (Hello, Ryan Howard!) The first pitch of the postseason is about two hours, 45 minutes away.

Hope you all saw that Twins/Tigers game last night, which was merely one of the greatest games I've ever seen. I can't remember another game that went on so long with both teams seemingly in position to win in every single half-inning, only to be done in by a great play, a great pitch or a great stroke of luck.

So, the field is now set. Here is my set-up piece, in which, defiantly standing in the face of prognostication futility, I pick the Yankees over the Rockies in the World Series. And herearetheseries-by-series capsules.

I've got the Rockies, Dodgers, Yankees and Red Sox winning in the first round. This is your chance to show me up, tell my why I'm wrong and earn the eternal respect of Baseball Insider readers everywhere. Go for it.

One Phillies-related note: Manager Charlie Manuel, who has been purposefully vague in projecting his pitching roles for the bulk of the series, said he will have Joe Blanton and J.A. Happ in his bullpen today and tomorrow -- presumably using matchups to determine which one (if either) he uses in relief, then using that to determine who might start in Games 3 and/or 4.

Meantime, Pedro Martinez will not be in the bullpen -- at least we think he won't be, because Manuel actually said, "No, he definitely won't be down there today, probably" -- which would appear to indicate Martinez is lined up to start a game down the line.

After watching the Nationals futility all year tuning in to last nights game was a pure delight. As a baseball obsessed youth with no D.C. team (never an O's fan, ever!) I remember crafting a homemade Homer Hankie back in '87 and reveled in the Twins win last night. A few hours later I closed my eyes and dreamed of a night like that in D.C. in the not too distant future..... In the meantime, I have the Yankees over the Dodgers in six.

Its great the Dodgers have home field and all, but picking against Carpenter and Wainwright in a 5-game series?! Not sure about that. Franklin would have to be incompetent (which he was in September, granted) for them not to have an awfully good chance of getting out of this series alive.

Rocks Cards
Sox Yanks

Sox Cards

Sox in 6

As a Nats fan, rooting for the NL Cards, but think the stronger bullpen wins out in the World Series.

Phillies over the Rockies in 4 games. The Rockies will take a game in Philly and the champs wrap it up on the road - as they were the best road team in baseball in 2009.

Cards over the Dodgers in 4. The Dodgers are sending out Randy Wolf to start game one and Vincente Padilla in game 3? Both are Phillies send-offs. You know your club is in deep trouble if you have Padilla throwing game 3 of any playoff series. Didn't the Rangers cut him mid-season? There was a reason for that. He is awful. The Cards might sweep, but I say 4 to be safe.

Yanks over Minnesota in 3. I like the Twins but they are over matched and last night took too much out of them. It was a nice run though.

Angels over Sox in 5. The Sox are banged up and the Halos are on a mission. Plus, the odds are in their favor with the Sox beating them in the ALDS every year. They are due.

I think the Phillies will beat the Angels in the WS, but I'll be satisfied if the Angels finally beat the Red Sox. Boston deserves its comeuppance after Larry Lucchino dissed the Nats recently. He was speaking o a Harvard Crimson reporter regarding a law school class on sports law that visited Fanway Park:

"When the reporter said he had only ever been to a Nationals game, Lucchino had a ready retort, flashing his team allegiance. 'You can’t go see the Nationals,' he said. 'That doesn’t count.' ”